Alvarez, Juan N.: Federalist, Revolutionary, and Liberator

Time has come to shatter the obscurity that surrounds
Juan N. Alvarez. Did history produce this outstanding leader because the times demanded
such, or did the times create Juan N. Alvarez? Understanding the historical atmosphere
that surrounds early 19th century Mexico, surveying the outstanding accomplishments of
Juan Alvarez, and realizing the influence he wielded all contributes to our analysis of
him and a better interpretation of his place in Mexican history. When a country's history
is written, the silent and unnoticed servants also deserve reflection and tribute. The
purpose of this paper is to establish Juan N. Alvarez a rightful place in history.

After the deaths of Hidalgo and Allende, the Mexican
independence movement continued through a different type of revolutionary leader. Many of
them were mestizo in origin and came from humble backgrounds, without the education of
Hidalgo. In many ways these leaders were more competent, more military-minded, and more
steadfast in accomplishing their objectives. These leaders did not gather their armies
from the masses; they created small, well-trained, and disciplined armies. "Instead
of gathering hordes of cotton-clad Indians, armed only with knives and slings, they
recruited troops of horsemen, equipped with guns and machetes, who could defend against
armies."( Parkes 155). In the mountains of the South and northern
territories--Zacatecas, Durango, and San Luis Potosí--there were fewer haciendas and many
more rancheros. The Indian tribes were more militant. In these large areas, a new meaning
of cacique developed. The new cacique was of mestizo heritage, not so much a living god,
but more a chieftain father. He represented the will of the masses, commanding
unbelievable loyalty and self-willed obedience. This chieftain was able to lead his
supporters into war, if necessary or to govern them, with or without legal sanction in
time of peace. Such a man was Juan N. Alvarez.

For at least a century, caciquism was the form through
which democracy would reign in Mexico. In a land of both Spanish and Indian descent and
traditions--a land of illiteracy--elective democracy was not possible. These caciques were
the revolutionaries who fought against the Creole caudillos of the regular army. Thus, the
birth of the conflicts between liberalism and conservatism and federalism and centralism
was confirmed. The caciques and their followers supported a liberal system that gave local
autonomy modeled on the federalism of the United States. They hoped to legalize their
powers.

On the other hand, the conservative creoles supported a
centralized government like the viceroys, which would grant the City of Mexico the right
to rule the provinces of all Mexico (Parkes 181). Hence, the stage was set for war. The
stronghold of the conservatives was Mexico City and the central provinces where the
Spanish rule had been the strongest. This was in sharp contrast to the liberal stronghold
in the mountains of the South and the northern territories. The threat of liberalism
terrified the Spanish and the Mexican reactionaries. To them, liberalism meant no more
fueros, confiscation of church property, spread of education, and illiterate Indians
choosing Mexico's government. In actuality, the reactionary government believed that
liberalism threatened their means of living. They were afraid liberalism would infect
Mexico and spread across the nation. As long as the creoles were in power, Mexico was
doomed to failure. The moderados longed for constitutional democracy, while the clericals
thought only of an authoritarian government. Neither of these factions were strong enough,
honest enough, or had ability enough to establish a stable political system. The
government in power in Mexico was always centered around powerful characters, individuals,
or dictators who could control the masses.

Enter Augustín de Iturbide, the political
conservative, who supported a ruling clergy, a centralized government, and a powerful
army. The year was 1813, and Iturbide was a man for himself, controlling all around him
and eliminating all those he could not control. "In two months he captured and shot
19 chieftains and 900 of their followers." (Parkes 163). During Iturbide's reign of
terror, a new group of liberals emerged, led by José María Morelos. These were
courageous men who could not be threatened, bribed, or bought (Parkes 181). One of
Morelos' most powerful supporters was Juan N. Alvarez. During the next 45 years, Alvarez
was destined to be an outstanding liberal leader known across Mexico for his loyalty to
freedom's cause "...a political figure of the first magnitude." (Tlapa, History
5). Of the chieftains or the caciques, Henry Parkes states, "occasionally corrupt and
tyrannical, they were sometimes men of genuine integrity and idealism."(Parkes180).

Proud of his heritage, Juan Alvarez worked the land
with his own hands and lived the life of a ranchero. Juan N. Alvarez was born January 27,
1790, in Concepción de Atoyac (later called Ciudad Alvarez), Mexico. His lineage was of
mixed heritage--Indian and Negro (Tlapa, History 5). History first records Alvarez in
1810, at the age of 20, fighting with Morelos against the conservatives, led by Augustín
de Iturbide.

Destined for greatness, Alvarez was a natural born
leader. He proved to be loyal to Morelos and the liberal cause (Tlapa, History 5). Morelos
was a guerrilla fighter, but also a well-disciplined leader, unafraid of confrontation. He
planned to carry out a complete revolutionary break from Spanish control. Morelos did not
even pretend to be loyal to King Ferdinand of Spain (Parkes 159). While Alvarez served
with Morelos, he tested his own beliefs, values, and loyalties. He made his choices and
became a man with a cause. He learned his job well. Alvarez quickly gained the recognition
of his superiors. In 1819, the Mexican Provisional Government of the Provinces of the West
named Juan Alvarez colonel and second commander-in-chief of the coast of the South (Tlapa,
History 2). In 1821, Alvarez captured Acapulco and was named commander-in-chief of
Acapulco (Tlapa, History 5). In 1824, Alvarez led another insurrection, supporting the
Constitution of 1824 and helping Gómez Farías and the puros return to power (Parkes
214). Between 1810 and 1855, Alvarez participated in numerous revolutionary movements to
establish Mexican Independence. He created a great sphere of influence in his native state
where he inspired and led his people (Britannica 700).

In the first place, Alvarez and Morelos believed that
Mexico should be a republic. The programs of the Mexican reformers included Mexico being
governed by the will of the people, racial equality (which would idealistically eliminate
class struggle), abolition of fueros for both clergy and military, breaking up of
haciendas into small holdings for the peasants, confiscating the property of the rich and
using one-half of this money to operate the government, giving the other one-half to the
poor, and the seizure of church lands. From the conservative viewpoint, these ideas were
more than a little radical. Under the leadership of Alvarez and Morelos, Congress began to
draft a constitution that provided for universal suffrage and indirect elections. Sadly
though, by the time this constitution was done, the viceroy had driven Morelos back into
the mountains. Morelos continued to fight in the mountains until he was captured, jailed,
and shot for his revolution of liberalism. (Parkes 160).

In spite of the resistance from the conservatives, Juan
Alvarez continued to lead the fight for Mexican independence. From 1822 to 1823, Alvarez
distinguished himself by supporting Antonio López de Santa Anna in a revolt that finally
ousted Augustín de Iturbide, the first ruler of independent Mexico (Britannica. com).
Santa Anna thought of himself as the liberator of Mexico and the founder of the Mexican
Republic, but the government of the republic did not view him as such. Without the
leadership qualities of Juan Alvarez, Santa Anna could never have succeeded.

During the late 1820's, Vicente Guerrero, the liberal
candidate for President of Mexico, was the most popular and gained the most support of the
Mexican people. But the conservative candidate Gómez Pedraza was declared President, and
Anastasio Bustamante became Vice-president. Santa Anna refused to recognize this
government. Vicente Guerrero fought with Santa Anna to regain the presdidency for the
Liberals. Guerrero was defeated and fled south into the mountains to join forces with Juan
Alvarez. In 1830 and for one year, Guerrero and Alvarez resisted Bustamante and his new
government (Parkes 195). Bustamante believed in centralism, and his 1830 campaign slogan
defended religion and fueros (Tlapa, History 5). Still bearing loyalty to Vicente Guerrero
and the liberal cause, Alvarez tried to save Guerrero's life in 1830, but he was not
successful. Guerrero was enticed on board an Italian merchant ship at Acapulco and sold to
the new conservative government for 50,000 pesos, convicted, and executed (Parkes 195).

Not only was Juan Alvarez a revolutionary, but he was a defender of
his people and a powerful chieftain. For example, in 1842, Guerrero revolted in violent
rebellion protesting unbearable taxes and the denial of request to return to the natives
the land that was rightfully theirs. By 1845, Alvarez had drafted an agrarian manifesto in
support of the farmers. Alvarez used arms, persuasion, and meditation to resolve these
problems among the farmers, landowners, natives, and the government. In 1857, Juan Alvarez
published a document entitled "Manifest to the Cultural Towns of Europe and
America." The purpose of this document was to defend the agrarian cause. Its aim was
to hasten the return of Indian lands to the natives. Another time, Alvarez had a
confrontation with two brothers that resulted in "The War of the Three Juans."
Two brothers, Juan Antonio and Vicarious Juan, refused to honor the General Constitution
concerning the agrarian policy (Tlapa History 2). Again Alvarez had proven himself a
capable chieftain.

Once more in 1847, Alvarez fought alongside Santa Anna in the
Mexican War against the United States, defending Mexico City (Britannica .com). Two years
later in 1849, Alvarez entered public service for the first time. He was now 59 years old.
From 1849 to 1853, he served as a liberal governor of the newly founded state of Guerrero,
whom he named after the famous revolutionary leader, Vicente Guerrero.When Santa
Anna reestablished his dictatorship of Mexico in 1853, Juan Alvarez retreated, not
threatening Santa Anna as long as he did not threaten Alvarez’s state of Guerrero
(Britannica.com). Melchor Ocampo and Benito Juárez refused to accept Santa Anna’s
rule and were exiled (Britannica.com).

Meanwhile, Santa Anna was draining Mexico’s treasury again, and
many of the leading generals and bureaucrats had turned against him. Juan Alvarez had been
a leader in every liberal rebellion for 40 years. At this time in his life, he was an
influential chieftain in Guerrero where "Morelos was still a living memory and
liberalism still had a stronghold." (Parkes 227). Finally in 1854, Alvarez led a
rebellion against Santa Anna who had threatened Guerrero and marched southward to capture
it. Alvarez and his guerrilleros avoided battle and retreated to the mountains, waiting
for the climate to drive Santa Anna back (Parkes 227). Alvarez and Comonfort, a creole in
hiding whom Santa Anna had dismissed, published the Plan of Ayutla. By the spring of 1855,
most of northern Mexico supported the Plan. The Plan of Ayutla was a reform program
calling for the end of the dictatorship of Santa Anna and the gathering of a
representative assembly to frame a federal constitution. It prepared the way for the War
of Reform (1856-1861) and the liberal government. Its main supporters were Juan Alvarez,
Ignacio Comonfort, Miguel and Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada and Benito Juárez (Columbia
Encyclopedia). This work of Alvarez and Comonfort resulted in a liberal trend known as La
Reforma (The Reform) and the Constitution of 1857 (Britannica.com).

After Santa Anna left Mexico, the country was in confusion. The
returned leaders acted as a brain trust to carry out reform. Its goals were to establish
the remnants of colonial government by removing clerical and military privileges; to
separate the church and state by secularizing education, marriages, and burials; to reduce
economic power of the church by forcing it to sell all of its properties; to begin an
economic movement of small farmers and industrialists; and, above all, establish a single
standard of legal justice (Britannica.com). Leaders of the revolution accepted Juan
Alvarez as chief of the revolution. In a junta met at Cuernavaca and presided over by
Gómez Farías, Juan Alvarez was declared provisional president. He organized his
government here in Cuernavaca and moved to the Capital. The people paraded in the streets
cheering for Levers and Comfort (Parks 228).

Juan Alvarez became President of Mexico in October 1855. On November
14, 1855, he rode into Mexico City attended by his bodyguard of Indian warriors from the
southern mountains. This indicated no more Santa Anna. Stern and serious men would now
govern Mexico (Parkes 229). Nevertheless, Alvarez was unable to establish harmony among
the liberal factions. He did not develop a clearly defined Presidential program for the
country (Britannica.com). Then in early December, Melchor Ocampo, the representative of
intellectual radicalism, was forced out of the cabinet. Alvarez took this as a warning
sign (Parkes 234). Alvarez’s heart was in the right place, but he was just a better
revolutionary leader than a Presidential executive. On December 8, 1855, after just 3
months as President, Juan Alvarez resigned in favor of Ignacio Comonfort as President
(Encyclopedia Americana). Different reasons had led Alvarez to resign. First, he was
despised for his lack of education. He was also a racial figure, of both Indian and Black
descent, and he was feared as a representative of racial warfare. When he led his Indian
warriors into the City of Mexico, all the wealthy and landed rich became afraid of peasant
rebellions and massacres of the Creoles and the destruction of civilized society. Perhaps
they were afraid for the masses to choose their own government.

Being able to realistically view himself, Alvarez knew he was unfit
for the delicate tasks of statesmanship. Guerrilla leadership was his talent and calling.
When Doblado threatened to pronounce for Comonfort, Alvarez resigned without a struggle
and returned to his home in the mountains of Guerrero (Tuck 3,4).

However, Alvarez was by no means finished as a leader. Mexico, in
some measure, appreciated Alvarez’s leadership. "In 1861 it was declared
Meritorious of the Mother country..." (Tlapa, History 2). During the 1860’s,
Alvarez now in his 70’s, opposed the French attempt to establish Maximilian as
emperor in Mexico (Encyclopedia Americana). He, along with Juárez, defended Mexico during
the French invasion to the front of the Division of the South (Tlapa, History 5). Alvarez
sent this message to the French and Maximilian sympathizers, "I still live, men of
the coast, I who have ever led you to fight against tyrants (Parkes 261). Juan Alvarez was
74 years old now and still master of Guerrero and the mountains of the south. Other
liberal generals fled to the United States because the French court-martial or terrorized
liberal sympathizers. The French held most of the cities and organized plebiscites for
Maximilian. In April 1864, Maximilian accepted the crown as Emperor of Mexico (Parkes
258). Looming in the background and rising was a new liberal who controlled
Oaxaca--Porfirio Diaz. In 1866, Diaz had surrendered to the French. He escaped confinement
in a roofless chapel in Pueblo and ran across the breadth of Mexico to Alvarez in Guerrero
and into the mountains. With Alvarez’s help, Diaz organized a ring of armies to fight
the French (Parkes 268). Juan Alvarez’s life had now made a full circle--the learner
had become the teacher.

Moreover, Napoleon III had as his goal the regeneration of Mexico in
French style. On the contrary, Mexico had not received Maximilian or the French well.
Napoleon had only succeeded in uniting Mexico’s cause of reform with that of national
independence. In 1861, Juárez had been confronted by many uncontrollable problems. Except
for the French intervention, these problems might have thrown Mexico into anarchy. But in
1867, with Napoleon III at a safe distance, "Juárez assumed leadership of an almost
united people who regarded him not only as a symbol of a liberal constitution but also of
the nation" (Parkes 278).

Before Alvarez died August 21, 1876, he did live to see the Republic
recovered by the Liberals (Tlapa, History 2). Few other great leaders were still alive to
see the victory of liberalism. Ocampo, Degollado, and Comonfort had been killed. Doblado
and de Tejada were dead (Parkes 277). But Juan Alvarez saw the movement he had supported
and the Constitution of 1857 blossom into reform and a new beginning for Mexico
(Britannica.com).

Once Juan Alvarez was described as "The most uncompromising of
liberal warriors during civil war."(Parkes 180). "It was said not a leaf could
stir in the entire territory without his consent."(Parkes 181). Mexican history
records the events of many prominent leaders, both liberal and conservative. Yet, not
enough emphasis is placed on the accomplishments and labors of the common chieftains like
Juan Alvarez. As Henry Parkes so aptly stated, "One of the noblest of them was Juan
Alvarez, an old follower of Morelos, who for nearly fifty years was the undisputed master
of the mountains of the South...." (Parkes 180). He gave his entire life to the cause
of Mexican independence. So many questions about Alvarez remain unanswered. Research is
very difficult; probably because few records were kept by the uneducated masses.

Without a doubt, Juan Alvarez deserves a distinguished place in
Mexican history. The people of Tlapa, his home, describe him as "Republican,
federalist, and liberal always ready to defend to the death his mother country and his
companions of fight"(Talapa, History 2). We may never form a physical or personal
acquaintance with Juan Alvarez, but we know him. His heart was good. He was a diamond in
the rough. He was a warrior, not a President. He was an inspiration, not a task master. He
was a servant, not a self-seeker. He was a patriot, not an aristocrat. He was of gentle
blood, not blue-blood. He was of humble lineage, not a king. He was an emancipator, not an
insurrectionist. He was a nationalist, not an anarchist. He was rebellious, but not a
rebel. He was a patriarch, not a dictator. He sought freedom for his people and devoted
his life to them - the common masses of Mexico.